


The Black Assassin

by JelliPuddi



Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: there's like no content of the Anglar Army and I'm one of very few people that enjoy them fml
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 07:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15836910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JelliPuddi/pseuds/JelliPuddi
Summary: Creeping around the Lylat System, and doing very rather violent jobs for clients, an assassin is sent to go after the Anglar Emperor, of all things. They were prepared for the acidic ocean where the Emperor lied, but not for what their actual fate would end up being.





	The Black Assassin

**Author's Note:**

> Repost/touch-up of what I put on my FF.net over a year ago, felt like putting it here because I had the fish itch.

"Hey sweetheart, you here all alone?"

The hawk gave a peculiar look, akin to the predatory bird he was, directing his glare to the girl across from him, a black marlin to be precise. She didn't say much of anything to him, and instead, focused on the bottled drinks, occasionally glancing around the bar she was in. She was not nervous but appeared wary nonetheless. "Not very chatty, I see," the hawk said, "most like coming to Papetoon for some quiet time, but you look like you could use some company more than anything."

She stared at the hawk, and then looked at the barkeep, who didn't even see the marlin come in. "Maybe," she finally muttered, not even able to say anything more, as the hawk wrapped his feathery arm around the marlin. She didn't flinch or push him away like he expected her to. Instead, she remained still, not bothered by the action in the slightest, so it seemed.

"A pretty face you are, for a broadbill. A real fish out of water we got here!" He laughed at the bad joke he had just made, not caring for her lack of a reaction. "How 'bout we get outta here, and I warm you up, huh?" Getting up from his seat, and trying to pull the marlin up, she didn't resist the advance, and took his leave with her. He did not bother paying for the drink he had, figuring the barkeep would put it on his tab.

Her body was slender for that of an aquatic being, wearing a grey, skintight suit. The fins on her head brushed over her left eye, as if it was hair, the hawk couldn't help but enjoy what he had just caught. Out of the bar, alone, on a night in Papetoon, he managed to nab a woman who looked as dark as the evening sky. Picking up strangers was a bad idea to most, but he didn't care, especially since he fancied them. Not to mention, the marlin was by herself.

"What'd you come to a lonely planet like Papetoon for anyway?"

"Particular people." She answered, refusing to make eye-contact still.

"Ah, really now? You're that lonely?" He grinned, not caring actually for what she was saying. "What kinda particular people are you prowling for?"

"People such as… yourself." Her eyes finally met his. Her gaze was cold and piercing, but it was lost on the hawk.

He perked up when the marlin said that last bit, smiling even more. "You're too flattering, love! If it's me you want, I'll give you—!"

The hawk choked on his words, literally, feeling something, a string of some kind tighten around his throat. He was so focused on holding the marlin close to him and forming a conversation with her, that he didn't see that she was armed this entire time.

That is, armed with a fiber wire. "You're worth a lot, not priceless, however." The marlin explained, keeping her voice low as ever. Even if they were alone, in the desert planet of Papetoon, she could not risk a single peep to be echoed through the night. Once she was finished, the hawk was permanently silenced, not able to overpower the cunning fish in spite of his own strength. The marlin lowered his body to the desert sands. She wasn't going to bother giving this fool a burial. The sand on him would have been blown away, easily.

Slowly, she pulled out a harpe. A blade, which had a curved part protruding near the tip, resembling a sickle. Hiding her work was a pain, and showing it off was more fun, in some sort of sick way. It was her "calling card", so to speak. Leaving things in a grim way, yet making sure that she was never seen, or left her own DNA behind for investigators. Even when a victim tried to take a piece of her with them, she made sure to take it back, even a part of her being was engraved in their claws or teeth.

The assassin who lurked among the Lylat System. Never seen, except by her victims as their life flashed before their eyes. She never left a trace of herself anywhere in the galaxy.

Upon being finished with all of it, the marlin walked across the desert, and back to her starcraft, which recently had special adjustments added to it. Booting up a computer, and checking the request she was sent, the marlin informed her client that the job was done. She would be expecting a reward sent her way soon,but that was when a new task popped into her feed.

One that had a high risk, but a high reward for her. An amount she would not have imagined. The target was also one that was unexpected, as it was the head of an empire, a monarch who ruled the depths of a whole planet. It was one thing for her to be sent against government figures or generals, but royalty was something she had not slain before.

There was a first for everybody, the thought of murdering the holder of a throne, it amused the marlin. Between her curiosity and the large payment, she saw no reason to not try soaking her heels in the blood of an emperor.

* * *

An assassination mission in Venom of all places, not unheard of, but extremely rare in recent years with how the environment was.

With Andross being dead for years, the only living things on that planet were the Anglar Empire. It made no sense for someone to try sending an assassin after them. Yet, for whatever reason, a killer was hired to do just that.

That client surely must have detested the Anglar Emperor. Perhaps they wanted revenge, were jealous of the Emperor, or they wanted to stop potential invasions from the Anglars. The most likely chance was it came from one who resided in either Corneria or Aquas. None of it mattered to the marlin though, at least, not right now when there was a job at hand.

Landing her starcraft, customized to withstand the toxic ocean, the marlin stepped out. Wearing protective gear, so none of the acidic water would make contact with her flesh, she snuck into the palace effortlessly. There was no security for the marlin to worry about in and outside the palace, allowing her to lurk in the darkness silently. Knowing all the Anglarians were resting at this period of time, the assassin thought this would be an easy kill.

There was just no way the Emperor would be able to fight back. Especially not when there was a cold blade sticking in their vital organs. Unsheathing the harpe, the assassin thought over which method would be the nicest… As in, most brutal— and rather edgy— way. Decapitation, perhaps. Sticking an anglerfish's head on a pike would be rather amusing, and a shock for the servants to wake up to. It was probably better to not make a mess though, or any noisy commotion.

Opening the door to the Emperor's room, she saw the old fool lying there, with their eyes closed. A perfect chance if she ever saw one, the poor soul would not even feel their demise. Stepping past the door frame, she held up her harpe, quietly approaching the slumbering Anglar. The Emperor was much smaller than the assassin had anticipated, which only made the job easier. Holding the harpe up to where her head was, positioned, the marlin carefully pulled the sheets off of Anglar's bed. The Emperor was completely unprotected, vulnerable, small, ready to be killed like the pitiful creature they were.

That was as far as the assassin went, however.

"Get away from the Emperor!"

Just before the marlin could turn around and see who it was, she was struck and held down by another fish; an Anglarian soldier, who was wide awake at this hour. Trying to slice him with the harpe, he merely smacked it out of the black marlin's hands, not caring if he had been cut by it in the process.

The Emperor awoke on the spot, startled by the sudden, loud noises. "Zazan? What is going on!?" Noticing the target was awake, the marlin began to panic, unable to reach for her weapon nor could they find a way to strike the Emperor. Their only chance was to break free of the larger Anglarian's hold.

During an attempt to subdue the intruder, Zazan was suddenly smacked in the head by the marlin's broadbill, even though she was masked by her protective gear she was a hard-hitter. The marlin then made a run for it while Zazan was dazed, in which he drew a pair of knives from his shoulder pads.

Rather than furious over an attempt on their life made, the Anglar Emperor smirked, speaking in an amused tone. "Go after them, Zazan." They chuckled, jumping out of the bed and taking the time to get dressed as the chase went on. Doing as he was told, the bodyguard pursued the killer, darting the dark hallways to try and catch up.

The marlin jumped out of the palace's window, remembering well enough that she was still in Venom's ocean, trying to swim for her starcraft. Unfortunately for the marlin, Zazan was just as swift as she was, proceeding to cut her off. It wasn't worth risking her craft or being killed inside of it, the marlin made her way to the shore. If she could get rid of Zazan there and then flee, that would be fine, even if she couldn't collect the reward. It would be preferable to kill him and the Emperor, but that seemed far too great of a risk now, the entire empire was most likely alerted by the presence of an intruder. Security would probably be increased, and she would have to make a new plan.

Pulling herself to the surface, the marlin saw that Zazan was no longer directly on their trail. It allowed her to unsheathe another weapon; a longsword of some sort, that was strapped to her back. It took two hands to wield, making it a no-brainer that it would have been difficult to fight back earlier— especially with Zazan nearby.

Now, all they could do was wait for him to show up, which he did. Zazan stopped the moment he saw the blade. Not out of fear, but confusion. "Alright, I gotta ask," he muttered, "why do you willingly lug around a heavy, steel sword, as opposed to one made of plasma? Or perhaps, a blaster if you're going to try to fend me off?" He questioned, preparing to circle the marlin, carrying daggers in his fins. "Not that I'm against these circumstances if you know how to hold that thing. It just seems like it'll either be too easy… for me that is."

He lunged at the assassin, who blocked off Zazan's daggers with the sword. Their strengths were almost even, it seemed that it could go either way. Yet Zazan knew, that his foe was armored, with that gear she was wearing, meaning that a simple cut with the daggers wouldn't be enough. He had to expose his enemy first by slicing the protective gear before any damage could be done to her.

* * *

The Emperor reached the surface soon after, watching the two clash. Leaving the ocean was difficult, so the Emperor remained in the water, witnessing the battle from close by. There wasn't any doubt in their mind, that Zazan would win. Unlike him, the assassin would surely grow weary, carrying around that giant weapon, and probably not used to Venom's climate— even if she was inside of a suit. Though, if Zazan ran out of stamina and was on the verge of death, from not being under the water, then they would have a problem.

Thankfully for Zazan, he wanted to make this fast and knew not to push himself too hard. He jumped to the side, avoiding the longsword, and slicing a large slit in the enemy's suit. She flinched from feeling the acidic air against her skin, allowing Zazan to punch the marlin to the ground since she had lowered her guard in that single second.

Even though her grip was still on the sword, the marlin's protective mask was soon torn off, revealing her face. Zazan had a feeling that she was either a marlin or some kind of swordfish from the start, because of how he was literally smacked by her bill. She even attempted it a second time right then, only for Zazan to grab her by the nose, and hold her down.

Breathing in the air of this planet, especially the sea breeze from that acidic ocean made the marlin weaker than before. Her stomach churned, feeling sick just from the smell of it. The Anglar Emperor approached the two and clapped, enjoying the show that was put on. "Excellent job on capturing the intruder, Zazan. Now then, whatever shall we do with her?"

Zazan glanced at his superior, still not losing focus on the assassin. "My liege, do you not wish for me to dispose of the fiend?" He asked. The Emperor replied by shaking their head, looking down at the marlin.

"I cannot let something like this go to waste. She came here on her own will in spite of the dangers, no doubt she was paid to." The Emperor held out the harpe that the marlin left behind in the palace. "How about this, we'll double whatever it was you were offered, if you go after the one who hired you in the first place. And furthermore, you will help the Anglar Empire in taking over the Lylat System."

There was nothing but silence. The marlin wasn't speaking at all, refusing to respond.

"Ignoring the Emperor who decides to acknowledge you? So, do you simply wish to die?" They grinned, while the marlin's eyes widened. "Zazan will gladly tie you up, leave you with an open wound, and let you take a dive into the Venom ocean, without your precious mask or suit to protect you!" After suggesting the idea, the Emperor cackled maniacally, showing little care over whatever happened either way.

With a sigh, the marlin spoke. "Anything for my life or a reward, as humiliating as this situation is. Spare me, and I shall lend you my services." The Emperor was pleasantly surprised to get such a response, as was Zazan.

"My liege, she tried to kill you! Why would you ask this one to be on your side so suddenly? She could very well try it again, you realize?" Zazan questioned, not letting go of the marlin, even for a second. "What if she betrays you!?"

"Calm down, Zazan. I know what I am doing. I just need someone to take care of the other planets in Lylat that we all plan on conquering." The Anglar Emperor chuckled again, "I need a hand with Titania, after all. Someone will be trying to take the machine that neutralizes our waters, she could kill anyone who dares come close to it, and then destroy the device to prevent anyone from finding and repairing it."

Unamused by the Emperor's attitude, the marlin mumbled, "Consider it done. If you assist in pulling my craft out of the water, firstly." Weakly, she got up to her feet, now that Zazan let her go. There wasn't any reason to refuse at this point. More cash was always the biggest priority, after all.

"As for my name… you may call me Zwei."

Considering the longsword she was swinging around, the name made sense to Zazan. She wasn't a swordfish though, she was a marlin, which was from a different family entirely. He wasn't going to point out how stupid that was, although it was extremely tempting.

"You are free to go, but expect to be contacted soon, assassin."

* * *

Once the whole fiasco was done with, Zwei was released, planning to pursue the client who had initially hired her. The payment from an Emperor was much bigger than that from an unknown party, as was Zwei's life, which she did not want to end so soon. Even though it was a frightening situation, the Anglar Emperor was glad to have met Zwei. Perhaps in due time, more could be learned about her.

"I'll ask one more time, my liege," Zazan spoke, "are you absolutely sure about her?"

"Oikonny is on Fichina," the Emperor started, "Octoman is sending Zako to handle Aquas. Meanwhile, Zoldge is controlling a weapon on Solar, while at the same time, he keeps things under control in Fortuna for us." The Emperor explained to the underling, ready to go back to bed. "And you, are in charge of Corneria, Zazan. Like I said, someone needs to occupy Titania and get rid of the only thing that could stop us."

Getting into the soft bed made up of seaweed bedding, the Emperor then began pondering about the assassin's capabilities. She probably wouldn't return to Venom if it was under attack. It would be too far away for her to aid in an emergency, much like Zoldge said he could not, in order to manage the Solar Satellite.

With a chuckle, Zazan was puzzled yet again at whatever gears were turning in his master's head. "Do not mind it, Zazan. I shall reign victorious, at this rate. You'll see, soon enough. Now then—"

"I am not going to tell you a bedtime story, your excellency." The Anglar Emperor flinched upon that sudden response, as Zazan continued. "You are older than I, it is an unusual request that you often have, I apologize if I am jumping to conclusions."

"What do you mean you won't!?"

"Oh, I guess my assumption was correct then," Zazan mumbled to himself, hoping the Emperor did not hear his remark. "Perhaps, you should try counting eels until you fall asleep? I am around to protect you, my liege, just as I did for you when that assassin appeared, but I need rest as well." Exiting the room, Zazan went to his own for sleep, which wasn't too far away from the Emperor.

"Wait, Zazan," The Emperor called out, but the bodyguard had already left. "Bah, forget it!" They pouted, annoyed that their most loyal vassal wasn't going to give in to petty demands this time. Though, considering Zazan had just fought off an assassin of all things, outside of the ocean to boot. It was no wonder that Zazan was probably too exhausted.

The Emperor plucked off the pair of fake whiskers on their face, and placed them on the nightstand, becoming comfortable while lying on their stomach. They smiled again while drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Everything was in place, things would go much more smoothly than before. The new hired gun would be successful, surely. That's what the Emperor told themselves, before drifting into slumber.

In just several hours, the Anglar Empire would hold a meeting. Hopefully, no one would make a fool out of themselves in front of the new face. The Emperor had to make sure they got plenty of sleep until then.

* * *

 

“I thought the security in Venom was better than this,” Octoman sighed, while Zako popped open a container full of shrimp, tossing the fried snack in his jaws. “An assassin, able to break into these quarters? Unthinkable!” He continued ranting while Zoldge was tinkering with a project he was tasked with working on. The squid was irritated by his teammates, but they were all being paid by the same person, so it was best to not get into any conflict. The Anglar Emperor would be sorely disappointed if they all started bickering amongst each other.

Even then, Zoldge often kept his distance from the others. Partly because he didn’t want to talk at all, Zoldge preferred to work, and keep to himself. It was annoying when the likes of Zako or Oikonny got noisy with him. “If it weren’t for Zazan, the Emperor would have been killed, and we would be out of a job!” Octoman then finally sat down, and shut up, which Zoldge was thankful for. “I don’t want to go back to racing,” Octoman murmured, “I felt humiliated, losing to so many people. This is the only way for me to help my planet, and—”

“Hey, calm down, boss-dude,” Zako said, patting his superior on the back. “Look, the assassin got caught, they called her back in and she's under careful watch now, it’s not like she’ll and backstab everyone escape or anything.” Hearing footsteps, Zako raised his head from the snack he was eating. “Speak of the devil, here they come with the killer right now.” Glancing at Zoldge, the hammerhead walked over and poked the squid, who flinched. “Calamari, you working on that weird, satellite thing still?”

Grumbling in annoyance, Zoldge turned to face him. “Yes, I am. I may not be a gifted pilot like the rest of you, but the Emperor always asks me to help with advanced weaponry, supercomputers,” this was all geek talk to Zako, who rolled his eyes at the squid, “hacking devices, and of course, small devices capable of torture or self-defense. Anything the Emperor needs that he does not have on hand, I am willing to offer, since I am in his services.” The squid’s beak gave a small, smug grin. “I am one that relies on brains, over the brawn of dogfighting. Something that you lack, Zako.”

Growling, Zako bared his teeth. “You’re lucky we ain’t allowed to brawl here, I am this close to giving you a noogie and—”

He was interrupted by the footsteps drawing closer, and Octoman pulling him to the side, shushing him. A couple of Anglarians were leading the assassin forth, and nearly everyone’s focus was on the killer.  She refused to say a word to any of the soldiers surround her and kept looking ahead. Only for a brief moment did she avert her gaze when she passed the group of hired guns.

“Guten morgen, allies of Herr Anglar,” Zwei muttered, not showing them any emotion. “I will be in the meeting with all of you soon. Do not look forward to me as your friend or anything. I am only here to do my job.”

Once the soldiers and the assassin were out of hearing range, Octoman trembled. “Urk, did you see the way she looked at us? Such contempt! How chilling, that such a coldblooded creature is suddenly among us. We aren’t actually going to have to work with her, are we?” 

Zako meanwhile, looked back at his shrimp, feeling that he actually lost his appetite. “Pretty spooky, the way she glared at us.” Glancing at Zoldge, Zako noticed that the squid’s eyes were in the direction that the assassin went. After a couple of seconds, Zako smirked and started chuckling. “What’s the matter Zoldge? You checking her out or something?”

“What? No, absolutely not!” Zoldge snapped, turning back to his work. “She’s a born killer, that one. Only a fool or a suicidal maniac would find her attractive!”

"Calm down, I was just kidding!" Zako then shuddered. "Still though, geez, we gotta work with her now. Hopefully, she improves that attitude of hers. Especially if she's going to deal with Oikonny later. She might kill him right away if she doesn't have patience."

Really though, everyone would have to try not to step on the newcomer's toes. It was like stepping over glass, except if they were not careful, they may get more than just a cut.


End file.
